Shouko's Punishment
by ribbed not ripped
Summary: Youko hands Shouko's punishment down to him. Rated PG just in case.


Disclaimer: The Twelve Kingdoms belongs to Fuyumi Ono, and Media Blasters.  
  
Shouko was smiling. He had been ever since both he and Gahou, had been thrown into their joint-cell. Gahou had told him numerous times to stop. He had even threatened him. Numerous times.  
  
They both knew that they were empty threats. So Shouko just kept smiling. He supposed that Gahou was just scared, and he was lashing out at the only person he could. He had accepted his inevitable execution long ago. They had committed countless atrocities against the very citizens that they were supposed to serve.  
  
He looked to Gahou's half of the cell. The man looked like hell. Gahou had stopped eating a week ago since he was shaking so much, he couldn't hold his chopsticks correctly. He also wasn't sleeping. He hadn't moved at all during their entire stay. In fact he do much of anything except occasionally threatening Shouko. Or weeping, and shaking so much he looked like he was convulsing. Shouko supposed it was because he was thinking about what his punishment was going to be. Or perhaps he was regretting everything he did.  
  
They had been in their cell for nearly a month now, with no word about their punishment. Perhaps the empress was just going to leave them there for the rest of eternity. Shouko's smile widened. An eternity with Gahou seemed like an appropriate enough punishment, though it was a little harsh.  
  
No, he thought. She didn't seem like an excessively cruel person. She had shown him mercy. Perhaps she was letting them stew for a while, before handing out their punishment. Or maybe she had just forgotten about them.  
  
"Do you regret any of it?" The question interrupted Shouko's line of thought. The last time Gahou had said anything was when he had threatened him.  
  
"What?"  
  
Gahou sighed and repeated himself, "Do you regret any of it? All the people you killed?" Shouko replied without hesitation, "Yes, and no."  
  
"What? You can't have both ways! You either you regret it, or you don't!" Shouko's reply was fired off just as fast as his last one, "I can have it both ways. Obviously you don't understand my reasoning."  
  
Gahou bristled visibly, "Really?" He asked indignantly.  
  
"Yes." Shouko replied.  
  
Gahou seemed to accept that, as he did continue speaking. "What I regret the most, is executing that group of Kaikyaku. If the empress ever found out that I killed her kind, then...then..." Gahou trailed off, and buried his head in his hands, ending their conversation.  
  
The two of them sat, wallowing in the silence for several more hours. Just when Shouko was nodding off to sleep, he was snapped out of his semi- comatose state by a set of footsteps. He sat up straighter. Gahou didn't seem to notice the steps, or maybe he just didn't care.  
  
The empress was walking down the corridor, along with the warden of the prison, and a pair of guards trailing behind them.  
  
"Take Gahou away." The warden produced a set of keys, and unlocked the cell door. One of the guards led Gahou away. He didn't even offer a token sign of resistance. After the guard disappeared around the corner, the empress turned to the remaining guard and the warden. "Leave us," she commanded.  
  
"But your highness!"  
  
"There's no need for concern. I'll be alright." As she spoke, Shouko saw a pair of eyes wink into existence, in the shadows at the empress' feet. Immediately, he understood the unspoken message was being conveyed to him. Try anything and you're dead.  
  
The warden, and the remaining guard left without further argument. The empress waited until they were gone. She then entered the cell, and sat down on the floor, on the spot that Gahou had been occupying. She waited for Shouko to turn towards her before speaking.  
  
"It's been very hard determining an appropriate punishment for you. However, I have narrowed the possibilities down to a possible two choices."  
  
Shouko seemed taken a back. "Two choices? Why? I should think that the obvious choice would result in the termination of my contract of immortality, followed by my subsequent execution."  
  
"Sorry, but I have yet to determine if that's necessary."  
  
Shouko fixed the empress with a hard, and determined gaze, "What if I just attacked you right now? Your youma would have to kill me to protect you."  
  
She gave him a bemused smile, and fixed him with her own glare, "If it comes to that, Hankyo has been ordered to avoid killing you. But in the confusion he might accidentally bite your leg off."  
  
He sighed, defeated again. "Very well then, if you haven't determined an appropriate punishment then why are you here? I would imagine that an empress has more important duties than chatting up prisoners.  
  
"That's exactly why I'm here; to determine which punishment is more appropriate. Shouko I'm going to ask you some questions. I want you to answer as truthfully as you can."  
  
He nodded. The empress continued, "Do you regret any of the atrocities you've committed?"  
  
He waited a moment before answering, "Yes, and no. Everything that I did to determine the existence of the Gods; I regret none of that. However, I do regret everything I did after I was convinced of their non-existence."  
  
The empress nodded. "One more question. Why did you question you faith? I've seen the large role that religion, and faith play in people's lives here. It seems unusual to just throw it all away"  
  
He paused a moment, and gave her question some serious thought.  
  
"When your predecessor first took the throne, I was an official in the ministry of the Shuukan. I wasn't the head of the ministry, but I was important enough to attend council meetings. At first I was eager to see the new empress. I was eager to do my part in rebuilding the kingdom that had lain in ruin, and poverty for so long. However, it wasn't long before I became disgusted with the empress. She was a weak pathetic child that clung to the robes of the Taiho everywhere she went. She was useless during council meetings. She refused to learn about the workings of the court. I would go to bed each night asking myself why Tentei chose such a useless empress for our kingdom. I had thought that the situation was as worse as it could get."  
  
Shouko paused, and took a sip out of a cup that had come with his evening meal before continuing.  
  
"The situation did worse, a lot worse. The empress couldn't deal with the pressures of ruling. She began making ludicrous, and unreasonable decrees, such as exiling all the women from Kei. My faith in the Gods had wavered to the point of non-existence. It was then that Seikyou approached me. He had usurped a good deal of power, and he had a lot of influence over many of the ministers. But now he wanted more. He told me that he was going to begin changing policies as he saw fit. Apparently I had a lot of potential. He offered me dominion over Takuhou. I agreed to follow him, not out of a need for power, but to prove to myself if the Gods did indeed exist. What Seikyou was planning amounted to heresy. If the God's were looking on us then surely all of Seikyou's conspirators would surely be punished. I almost made myself believe that I would be punished for my part. But nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. I was disappointed. But then I decided that maybe the God's weren't looking closely enough. I raised taxes, killed people, and burned down farms. I did everything that I wasn't supposed to do. But nothing happened. This time I became angry. Angry at the God's for not existing. Angry at the uselessness of everything. I lashed at the people. I raised taxes tenfold. Began executing the citizens on the slimmest of excuses. Nothing mattered anymore."  
  
Shouko paused a moment to catch his breath.  
  
"It was then I realized that if the God's didn't exist then I could play God. With a wave of my hand I could kill a hundred people, and burn villages. Seikyou didn't seem to care what I did, so long as I sent him his cut every month. The righteous Shouko that had set out not for power, but for truth, had fallen. I believed that I was invincible, untouchable."  
  
Shouko gave off a bitter laugh. It's interesting isn't it? No matter the intention, if power is abused it will never lead to good.  
  
"When your rebellion..." the Empress interrupted him. "It wasn't my rebellion. It was the people's."  
  
Shouko continued, "When the people's rebellion started to become a nuisance, I was angry. 'How dare these flies attack me?' I thought. I believed that I would be able to strike down the rebellion quickly, before it became a bigger problem. But I couldn't. A hundred flies are harder to kill, than one after all. I started to become frustrated, then angry, and finally furious. And then when my palace was attacked, I was scared. I was going to be toppled from power. So I ran, determined to marshal reinforcements from Seikyou, then return and crush the rebellion. But then you strode forth, your highness, the crimson-haired avatar of the Tentei himself, your eyes burning with divine wrath. When I realized who you were, it was like waking up from a very long nightmare. I realized what I had done for the first time. I wept for the first time in years that night. I wept for being so terribly mistaken. I wept for the lives that I destroyed. For the man that I once was. I wept in joy, for the Gods had sent Kei a magnificent empress. A strong empress, unafraid to use hands, to throw herself into danger."  
  
Shouko lifted his cup to his lips, and drained it. He waited patiently for the empress' judgment. He didn't know why but after rattling off his story, he felt stronger and younger. Which was ridiculous, he was immortal after all.  
  
"Shouko I have decided."  
  
"Very well. I await your judgment."  
  
"Tomorrow morning you will transferred to Baku Province. The Provincial Lord there has recently been re-appointed. Unofficially, you will take his place. Additionally, every second half of each month you will work alongside the labourers of Baku province that are rebuilding roads, dikes, and dams. While you are labouring your advisor will rule in your stead. This arrangement will continue until all that was destroyed by the youma are repaired. At that point you will be appointed as the official Provincial Lord."  
  
For the second time, Shouko was taken aback. "I cannot accept this post. I have sinned grievously, and for that I deserve death. "Shouko you told me that you regretted your actions. You believe that you need to be punished to atone for your crimes, correct?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Your crimes are indeed monstrous, but I don't believe that executing you would be the best answer. You do seem genuinely repentant. You're not an evil man. Simply misguided. But now you see your mistakes clearly. Would it not be far better to repent for your sins by serving the people, making them happy, and enriching their lives. Circumstance caused you to miss your first chance to help rebuild this kingdom. Will you willingly throw away a second chance?"  
  
"Perhaps you are correct your highness. But I don't feel that I'm qualified to rule a province. I was corrupted so easily when I ruled Takuhou."  
  
The empress was quick to reply, "Yes you are correct. But you were on a path to destruction. You didn't care anymore about helping. You only wanted to hurt. But now you've changed, you're willing to atone for your crimes. After all, repentance is the first step to forgiveness. Not only that but you're not conventional. Shouko you think outside of the box. You were the only one to doubt the existence of the Gods. Seikyou and the others couldn't see past their greed. Since I'm from Hourai I have trouble with faith."  
  
A bemused smile crossed her face. "Faith is something that isn't common there. But here I'm surrounded by it. I can feel it saturating the very air that I breathe. Faith isn't a bad thing. But blind faith is something that I dislike."  
  
Shouko smiled, a real smile this time. "You're right. I was too absorbed with my need to punish myself to see that there might have been a better path. Your highness I accept your proposal."  
  
The empress stood up. "Good. I look forward to seeing what you'll do. However," her gazed hardened, "I'll be keeping a close eye on you. If you ever harm my people then I'll take your head myself. Understood?"  
  
"Of course." With that Shouko lowered himself to bow.  
  
"Stop."  
  
He stopped. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I've abolished that practice. I've always disliked it. A lot of other things have happened since your imprisonment as well. Please stand up, and follow me."  
  
He did so, and as the empress left the cell he trailed behind her, shutting the door as he left. He could see a smile forming on the tips of her lips.  
  
"I'll have a room prepared for you. And Keiki will inform you of all the changes that have occurred." She said.  
  
Shouko smiled again. He was very much looking forward to the future.  
  
Author's Notes  
  
First of all apologies to Verna-S. I did promise to let you beta for me, sorry for not taking you up on that. (Hopefully this will be enough info for you to figure out who I am). But I did manage to finish this story and I was impatient to upload it.  
  
Let's I do realize that there might be OOC issues. I did try to keep everyone in character but I'm not sure if I did a good job of it. If anyone found Youko, or Shouko OOC, I do apologize I tried my best!  
  
Moving on. In case anyone is curious or cares, I wrote this story because the series never did address the issue of, "what the heck happened to Shouko?" So through the miracle (ha) of fanfiction I give you my answer. And now that you're at the bottom of the page, you have no choice but to review. (C'mon pretty please?) 


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